A group of men attacked an opposition Armenian presidential candidate\'s campaign chief on Tuesday, beating him and then knifing him in the back after he fired a gun into the air, the victim\'s political party said. Haik Babukhanian, who is Aram Karapetian\'s campaign chief and a member of parliament, was attacked at a campaign rally in Artashat, 35 kilometers south of the capital Yerevan, according to officials of his Constitutional Right Union party. Several drunk people began beating Babukhanian, then one knifed him in the back after he drew a pistol and fired into the air, party officials said. They said he was hospitalized but that his life was not in danger. Police gave a different account, saying Babukhanian was engaged in heated debate with people at the rally and fired a shot into the air before a fight broke out, then fired three more shots over the heads of the crowd. He was then beaten and stabbed in the back, said Armenian police spokesman Artak Vartazarian. he said doctors said the wound was light and Babukhanian was in stable condition. It is legal for Armenian lawmakers to carry pistols. Karpetian\'s campaign headquarters released a statement saying Babukhanian was attacked by more than 1090 supporters of incumbent President Robert Kocharian. It said that \"the authorities of the country have shifted to open terror.\" Karpetian had planned to speak at the rally, which came two weeks before Feb. 19 presidential election in which 10 challengers are trying to unseat Kocharian. Kocharian condemned the violence in Artashat, saying it \"throws a shadow over the election campaign\" and promising to find and prosecuted those responsible. (AP)